Local Hero: Beverage Artisan, Spirits

An interview with Caley Shoemaker, cofounder and master distiller

Photos by Douglas Merriam

The Barbaras: A gimlet cocktail made with Sigil gin, simple syrup, and fresh lime.

“I’ve worked in spirits manufacturing my whole career, and believe that as small craft producers, we have an opportunity to showcase local farmers and locally grown botanicals, heritage grains, and foodstuffs,” says Caley Shoemaker of As Above, So Below Distillery. Shoemaker has been distilling since 2009, beginning her career at Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey in her hometown of Denver. She served as the head distiller for Hangar 1 Vodka in Alameda, California, before making her way back to the mountains to open As Above, So Below with her husband and business partner, Jeff Gust. Shoemaker is passionate about creating spirits with a sense of place, and is dedicated to sharing her love of Santa Fe through her unique distilled spirits.

You studied art, and have described distilling and product development as more of an artistic process than a scientific one. How does a spirit like your Aradia Aperitivo evolve from inspiration to final product?

I ended up in art school as I was often described as creative, though I now know that most of my creativity comes from a desire to problem solve and achieve a specific end result. It is impossible to separate art and science in most cases. Even a painter must ensure that the paint is mixed correctly to achieve the appropriate consistency and presentation through chemistry.

For the Aradia Aperitivo, I wanted to create a classic red bitter expression, with bright citrus notes and a deep herbal base note. As with most spirits, I began with very small batches in jars, infusing botanicals at different concentrations, then distilling them until the resulting notes presented in the way I was seeking. Most of the time, things come out as planned, though sometimes different botanicals will complement one another to create a new and unexpected experience. Once I am happy with a smaller batch, I repeat it in a larger quantity, usually five to ten gallons, before moving to a full production–sized batch.

Top: The Frigg cocktail with Sigil gin, lemon, house-made cherry liqueur, and house-made crème de violette.
Bottom: Caley Shoemaker in the tasting room.

What goes into a bottle of Ritual Vodka?

Ritual is a sort of culmination of all the things I love about distilling. It starts with barley grown and malted nearby in southern Colorado. The barley is transported to Bosque Brewing Company, where it is brewed into wash—an alcoholic barley base similar to beer but without the hops. To make our vodka, the wash is distilled to 190 proof through a column-style distillation. We use the same wash, double-distilled in our pot still, then aged in oak, to create our (yet to be released) American Single Malt Whiskey.

I started my career making 100 percent malt whiskey and fell in love with the profile of the barley-based spirit, both newly distilled and aged in oak. After distilling vodka from wine for six years, I experienced how beautifully the ingredients come through in the final product, as distilling different varietal wines produced unique expressions. I wanted to bring my original love—barley—into vodka and create something classically reminiscent of vodka as it was made before the US market began demanding a totally flavorless product.

How do you make space for the creative process amid all the nitty-gritty and administrative details of running a business?

I find managing our business to be creative, even when I am not directly creating new spirits. Creating experiences through our lounge or through off-site events, adjusting to business growth, and learning and creating new ways to present our brand to the world offer tons of opportunities for me to delve into what I feel is a creative process.

Do you have a favorite ingredient, whether to cook or craft spirits with? Where do you source it and how do you use it?

I love working with all things botanical. I think it is fascinating that most plants have a relationship to humans, whether medicinal or through food or culture. Human culture is inextricable from plant life, and we’ve woven botanicals into everything we do. I am constantly finding new ways to interact with different botanicals and finding myself inspired to weave them into our spirits.

That said, barley is at the root of everything we do at As Above, So Below. I love the profile it lends to distilled spirits, whether presented in a nuanced way in vodka, or complementing classic oak notes in whiskey. I enjoy experimenting with different types and roasts of barley from various farmers and maltsters, especially since the craft beer boom has created a market that has so many unique presentations.

Caley Shoemaker in front of stills at As Above, So Below.

How does New Mexico’s craft distiller license impact you, both as a distillery and a cocktail lounge?

The craft distiller license is a big reason we chose New Mexico to start our business. We are primarily a distillery, with most of our focus on spirits manufacturing. That said, in many states, serving your own spirits onsite or selling bottles to the public is prohibited; the only route to market for small distillers is through a distributor. The craft distiller license allows us to present our spirits—by the bottle or cocktail—on our own while we retain all of the margin. As an extremely small business, this made opening a distillery much more feasible, and offered a revenue stream not available in other states. Also, it was important for us to be able to create a place where people can come, meet us, and taste and experience what we make.

What gin cocktail will you be drinking (or serving) on a crisp evening in late November?

I LOVE cocktails with rosemary for winter. Rosemary is piney and herbal, and pairs beautifully with the juniper and sage notes in gin. Our team makes a fantastic rosemary gimlet, and it is the perfect refreshing option as the weather transitions into winter.

As a relative newcomer to Santa Fe, how are you building community, and where do you enjoy eating on your days and nights off?

Santa Fe is such a beautiful food city, known (rightly) for all of the fantastic New Mexican food. I grew up in Colorado, and have always loved green chile, though I did not know what I was missing until I settled here. I joke that we call the red/green chile choice Christmas not because of the colors but because chile season is “the most wonderful time of the year.” I love cooking and take endless inspiration from the amazing restaurants we have in our state. Jeff and I will often do what we call a “progressive dinner,” working our way to two to four restaurants in town for a shared appetizer or entrée and cocktails, giving us an opportunity to try as many dishes as possible and to visit many of our friends working in service.

What is a local food issue that is important to you? Why?

I am fascinated by the history of food processing in the United States and how our economic system and federal legislation have created the highly processed food system we experience today. It often seems that as a result, we are very disconnected from our food and have little understanding of where it comes from or what goes into it. I am passionate about supporting farmers and producers in growing and creating food using heritage methods, leaving our food as close as possible to what nature intended. Our spirits tell a story about these products in an approachable way, highlighting the small farmers dedicated to growing in a way that is healthy for our bodies, communities, and environment.

545 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe, aasbdistillery.com